Let Love In
by earthsista
Summary: Bella returns home for a 6 month holiday and meets the mysterious Edward Cullen. They fall in love quickly. But will the issues from his past and her own insecurities, break them or will their love survive? Lemons, Language and Some Violence ... AH, AU
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or it's characters (I wish I did though!). The lovely Stephanie Meyer does!

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 1<p>

Sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone, become independent, explore the unknown...

I've lived in Australia with my mother, Renee, since I was 10 years old. We moved overseas from the U.S. for a change of scenery, a change of climate, hell, so many reasons. We just wanted to start fresh.

My mother and father, Charlie, were high school sweethearts and blissfully in love, or so they seemed to be. They were planning to travel the world together after their high school graduation. They were so excited, especially Renee. She has always had an itch to travel and see the world.

Unfortunately, there was a hitch in their plans. That being me: Isabella... or Bella, as most people call me. I hate being called Isabella. I only get called that when I'm in trouble.

I was an unplanned baby, of course. What young couple would want to have a baby so early on in life? They were upset initially, but they didn't have the courage to abort. So here I am, 25 years later. We were a happy family up until I was 5. Renee divorced Charlie after being verbally abused by him for 3 years ... but really, the catalyst for the divorce was the physical abuse that he inflicted upon me.

Since their divorce, I've seen Charlie a couple of times a year, mainly in during the holidays. Although in the last few years, we've only kept in contact via the Internet, you know, thanks to the mighty Facebook. We Skype at least once every couple of months. We aren't really close, not as close as Renee and I me ... but we try our best to get on. Charlie and I have never seen eye to eye, but I know he loves me in his own way, I guess. He tries to reach out to me and I try to give him the benefit of a the doubt.

Renee and I have resided in Sydney since we first arrived in Australia. I love Sydney. I've had so many good times here. I made some close friends at in high school, I went to parties, etc., etc. I had one boyfriend but that didn't last long. Not when I found out he was seeing other chicks behind my back. Loser!

Renee found love again after have some short-lived relationships with men that were arrogant, egotistical, self-centered assholes. But not Phil ... he's nothing like her ex-boyfriends. He's lovely, treats her like she's a princess. He'd do anything to make her happy. Oh, how I'd love to find a man like that. Someone who would sweep me off my feet, someone who I'd fall deeply and desperately in love with.

2011 will be my year. I know it will be. I'm going to go on a 6-month holiday in California. Catch up with Ange, my bestie (we went to primary school together), relax, let my hair down, have the time of my life. Maybe have a harmless flirt or two.

I've just landed at Los Angeles International Airport and have been waiting out the front of the airport for Ange to pick me up. She's running late by 15 minutes. I'm so tired. My flight here was awful. I couldn't sleep at all, maybe around 8 hours, but that's it. I blame that on the freaking babies that were crying, not to mention the couple beside me were making out like they weren't in public ... ew.

"EARTH TO ISABELLA ... **BELLA**!"

I feel my body literally jump out of my skin.

I turn around and take in the gorgeous girl in front of me. I run and jump into my best friend's embrace.

"Oh, how I've missed you, my girl." Ange hugs me tighter and sways us from side to side.

"You know I've missed you, girlfriend. I'm so glad I'm here! Thanks for letting me stay with you! Are you still okay with it? Six months is a long time to put up with me and my annoying habits!" I wink at her and she rolls her eyes at me.

"Don't be so ridiculous! You're staying with me. It will just be us," Ange smiles at me softly.

~~~~~~~~~~LLI~~~~~~~~~~

One hour later, we pull up out the front of Ange's place... 3 bedroom red brick house with a picket fence, nice big front yard with a cute fish pond ... sweet.

We walk up to the front door and Ange pulls out the house keys, unlocks the door and gestures for me to walk in first.

I can't get enough of the living room and dining area. They are huge ... and the kitchen. A chef's dream! I can see us having some fun in here.

"So, what do you think?" Ange asks.

"What? What do I think of the house?"

"No, Bella... what else would I referring to? Omg..."

I chuckle. "I love it. You have a beautiful home, Ange. How long have you lived here for now?"

"Only for about 6 months. My father helped me move, and Ben as well, of course," Ange sighs.

I haven't seen Ben in many years. He and Ange have been together since high school. They are soul mates. They and are perfect for each other.

"Oh, wow, Ben! When will I see him? Has he put a rock on your finger yet?"

Ange sighs and looks down. "No, not yet. But we've talked about **marriage** ... and children too ... he said that he wants them, so maybe in the next few years or something. I'd say yes if he asked me tomorrow if I'd marry him, though," Angela sighs and smiles.

"When will he grace us with his presence? I'd love to see him!"

"He's hanging out with his cop buddies tonight. He thinks we should throw you a "welcome back" party though, by the way. You like?" Ange grins at me like a fool.

I mirror her expression. "Shit, yeah! Why not? Just don't invite too many people along, especially if I don't really know them."

"Don't worry, sweet thing. I'll just invite a few of my girls from work and some of Ben's work buddies. How does that sound?"

"It sounds perfect." I give Ange a hug and my stomach growls. She cracks up laughing.

"I'm craving some pizza. What do ya reckon?"

I nod my head frantically. "Oh, yes please."

"Lots of veg, extra mushroom, pineapple and olive? Hold the meat and cheese?" Ange winks.

"Great memory there, my friend. Sounds good. Hurry up, chop chop!" I giggle.

2 hours later, we are lying down on the loungeroom floor, complaining of how full our bellies are, mine of veg pizza and Ange's of seafood pizza … not to mention the garlic bread as well.

Ange stands up and shows me the room that I'll be living in for the next 6 months.

"Here you go, Madam! Your towels are in the hallway cupboard. I've also got a stack of razors in the bathroom, so feel free to have a shower before you go to bed. I'm so glad you are here, Bella."

We hug each other tightly before Ange goes to bed.

I quickly unpack one of my suitcases and collect my pajamas, underwear and towel and go to take a hot shower.

20 minutes later, feeling refreshed, I go to bed, looking forward to my 'welcome back' party. I have a feeling this party will be the start of something wonderful...

* * *

><p><strong>Authors Note: <strong>

Hey! *waves* Thanks for reading Chapter 1 to my first Twilight fan fic! I hope you enjoyed reading it.

The plot for this story has been in my head for months but I was never really interested in sitting down and putting the story on paper, let alone on the Internet! But after reading some inspiring Twilight fan fic stories in the last couple of months, I've finally felt compelled to give fan fiction writing a go.

Thank you to two lovely ladies, loopylou992 for being my pre-reader and cdrivanova for being my beta! I feel blessed to have both of your support with this story. :o) I appreciate both of your assistance and feedback for Chapter 1. I can't wait to really get into this!

I've just posted the link to the Let Love In banner on my profile page, please go ahead and have a look! :-) Thanks so much to loopylou992 for creating it for me!

I'll try and not be too long to do chapter 2! Until then, I'd absolutely love a review! Some feedback would be great! :o)

See you soon,

Earthsista x


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight or any of the Twilight characters ... the one and only, Stephanie Meyer does.**

**This is unbeta'd so mistakes are all mine. The beta'd version will be up soon.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

I wake up the next morning feeling rejuvenized. The long flight over was a real killer.

I reach over to the side table next to the bed to grab my phone to check for any messages or missed calls. I see have a missed call from Renee. _Oh shit. _I totally forgot to call her last night to let her know I got here safely. She must be so pissed with right now!

I try to call her back but doesn't answer. I guess I'll try calling her again later.

Before going to the kitchen to fix myself something to eat, I check out every room in the house. I must say Ange has done well for herself. I've always wanted to buy a place of my own ... a 2 or 3 bedoom house, with a big swimming pool out the back, enough room for a big dog and a couple of kids. One day, I hope. Oh, and a husband too, of course. Funny that I think of that last!

"Bellaaaa!"

I run towards the living room and find Ange standing on the sofa, her eyes scanning the floor.

"Umm, what are you doing?"

"I saw a spider, Bella. I'm not getting off her until it's dead. Can you kill it, please?"

"Oh, poor diddums. Where is it? I can't see it." I get on my hands and knees to crawl around to find it.

I burst out laughing. "You can't be serious. A daddy longlegs? You're freaked out by a daddy longlegs?" I snicker.

"What a nice friend you are. I thought you would have remembered that I have a huge fear of spiders. I usually call Ben over to kill it or I get his best friend to come over if Ben is not around."

"I'm sorry I forgot. You gotta admit though, it is pretty funny."

"God, you can be such an insensitive bitch sometimes, Bella." Ange scowls at me.

"That's why you love me." I give her a toothy grin.

I go to the kitchen to grab a few tissues and walk back into the living room and pick up the spider. I go over to open the front door and let the imposter escape.

I walk back inside and tell Ange that I got rid of it.

"What are you doing today, gorgeous?" I sit down on the sofa and rest my head in my hands.

"I need to go to the dance studio to do some paperwork for Carmen and Kate. I'll only be a few hours. You can come along if you'd like?"

"Do you need me to do any food shopping? I can stock up on things for the party? Oh, and when were you thinking of having the party?"

Ange hums. "Ben said him and his buddies are off-duty tonight. Too soon? If it's too soon, we can organise it for another night."

"Are your girls able to come tonight?"

Ange nods her head. "Carmen said yes but not sure about Kate. I'll see if Charlotte can come along too."

"Alrighty then. Tonight is fine. I'll go and grab some food for it then."

Ange claps her hands with excitement.

"The party will be great! I can't wait for you to meet everybody."

"Me too, my friend. Me too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LLI~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Angela leaves to go to work, I go have breakfast followed by a quick bath to shave my legs. I'd rather get that out of the way now as I probably won't have enough time to do so before the party tonight.

Twenty minutes later, I walk down to the local grocery store. Ange's house is only 3 blocks away from down town Los Angeles. Very handy. I love it.

Salami, check. Cheddar cheese, check. Daiya vegan cheese, check. Crackers, check. Gherkin and eggplant dip, check. What else? Hmmmm...

"Well, hello stranger! Bella, long time no see?"

I turn around to face whose talking to me. I cringe internally. _Oh, kill me now, please._

"Hi Mike!" I say in the most enthusiastic voice that I can muster.

My eyes fly wide open in sheer horror as he steps forward to engulf me in a hug. He holds me for what feels like an eternity before he lets me go.

"I heard on the grapevine that you were back. I couldn't be happier see that it's true! It's so great to see you. It's been a few years since you've been over to visit Ange, yeah?"

"Yeah, it's been around 3 years."

_Oh, God. I want to get out of here._

"How long will you be around for? We need to hang out. Would you like to go out for dinner with sometime?" Mike's voice is full of hope.

I squirm where I stand. "I'm sorry, Mike, but my diary is pretty full right now. Thanks for asking though. That's sweet of you."

"Can we exchange numbers then? Can I call you?"

_Shit. Shit. Shit! What the fuck do I say?_

I feel someone wrap their arm around me and I jump in surprise. I look over at Mike, who looks at this stranger next to me, with a big sour look on his face.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is. Cullen," Mike sneers.

Just as I'm about to look up at this Cullen person, this beautiful, velvet voice speaks.

"Nice to see you too, **Newton**."

I look up at Cullen and my mouth goes dry. I swear my heart has just stopped beating.

I've met some really good-looking, correction, RIDICULOUSLY good-looking men in my life but this man has really put them to shame. I can't think of just one word to describe him. Sexy?Handsome? Gorgeous? Oh, yes, but, so much more. He's THE epitome of all things beautiful. He looks at least 6'1, has a gorgeous mop of medium brown hair that I want to run my fingers through.

I'm snapped out of my internal thoughts by Mike.

"Bella, are you alright?"

I clear my throat. "I'm okay, sorry."

Mike gives me a confused look. I look at Cullen, who is giving me a panty-dropping grin. I get a closer look at his eyes ... they are bright green. Wow, so gorgeous.

He turns back to Mike and cocks an eyebrow at him.

"Newton, you're not harrassing this poor girl ..." He turns back me and winks and turns back again "... Bella, are you?"

Mike furrows his eyebrows at him. "Bella's an old primary school friend. I'm just wanting to exchange numbers. Is that a crime now?"

I frown. "I'm sorry, Mike, but I'm not interested in that way. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."

Mike looks crestfallen. "Oh, okay. That's alright, Bella. Thanks for your honesty."

He looks at Cullen again and narrows his eyes at him, returns his eyes back to me again and smiles shyly.

"Oh, well, good to see you back, Bella. Say hi to Ange for me. Might see you around!"

I nod my head. "See you around, Mike. Take care."

Mikes gives me a small wave, looks at Cullen up and down, shoots him a dirty look and walks off.

Cullen removes his arm from around my shoulders. I turn my body around towards him to look at him properly.

"Thanks for your assistance. You are my knight in shining armour." I smile sweetly.

He smirks. "My pleasure. It really looked like you needed saving, I'm glad to be of service."

"Yes, I did. Every time I come over to Los Angeles to visit my friend, I run into Mike and he hounds me to go out with him. He can't seem to take a hint ... not even when I know he's in a relationship with someone."

Cullen nods his head. "Yeah, that's him for you. He's a creep. I've never liked the guy."

I snort. "That doesn't seem to be unrequited. From the look on his face, it was like he wanted to remove your manhood or something."

Cullen throws his head back and laughs. "Oh, I'd love to see him try!"

Oh, this fine specimen of a man is cocky.

"Well, thanks again, uh, Cullen. I better keep on with the shopping."

"Please don't call me Cullen, my buddies call me that." He holds out his hand for a handshake. _Oh, how I'd love to do more than just that. _"Call me Edward."

"Bella. Well, you already knew that." I blush. As we shake hands, I feel some sort of electricity between us. My eyes go wide and my mouth opens and closes again & I gulp heavily. I remove my hand from his and check to see if he felt that as well. He's looking back and forth between my mouth and my eyes with an intensity that makes my legs want to turn to jelly.

I break the trance that we both seem to be in and decide to say something. "Thanks again, Edward. See you around?" I capture my bottom lip between my teeth with nervousness.

"I hope so, Bella. That would be great. See ya." Edward smiles at hesitantly.

I turn back to my trolley and start walking away when Edward calls my name. I look back at him.

"I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty more of each other in the future, Bella. You can count on it." Edward grins me.

I'm at a loss for words so I just nod my head. "Uhh, sure..." I give him a cheesy smile and give him another wave before I leave him standing there as I go to collect a few more food items before I pay for them and leave.

What the hell just happened?

* * *

><p><strong>AN - <strong>Hi guys! Sorry it's taken me until now to update. Thanks for your patience. This chapter was fun to write. What did you think about Bella's encounter with Mike and Edward?

This is the unbeta'd version of chapter 2 ... cdrivanova, my beta, is reviewing it at the moment and I'll replace this with the beta'd version asap. :)

Thanks to cdrivanova and loopylou992 (my pre-reader) for all their help and support with this story. Thanks also to everyone who has put the story on Story Alert, on their favorites list & have put me on their Favorite Authors list & put me on Author Alert. I'm very flattered!


End file.
